The Lesson We Learn
by mew-xena
Summary: ONESHOT In exchange for emotional freedom, Slade wants Raven to revel what the Titans posses that he doesn't. In the form of a letter Raven answers, going far deeper then powers, going into personalities of heroes and villians alike, yet does not betray.


**Okay, this is a bit wierd one shot. I was inspired by Rose-Eclipse's 'Raven's Request.' ROSE ECLIPSE IS THE MOST AMAZING ONE-SHOT WIRTER EVER! You have to read her stories:**

**1. Raven's Request**

**2. Robin's Revenge**

**3. Forevermore**

**Here's the story:**

Slade:

In exchange for emotional freedom, you asked me to betray me truest friends. To revel to you what we have that you do not posses, so that you may obtain it. I have done what you requested, but whether I have betrayed my friends, I leave you to decide.

One of our own continues to defy you. Robin, the the Boy Wodner, your would-be apprentice. Like me, evil tempts him around every corner. You are only the most recent of many. You offer him power, glory, unmatched strength. Yet he continues to defy evil. He continues to defy you. He chooses his friends over all that. You cannot possibly imagine it, the man with no friends who only yearns for the things you offer him. You cannot possibly comprehend what is so valuable that we all have turned from the treasures of evil.

_**Though evil tempts us, we never stray from our path.**_

Before the accident, Cyborg had it made. He was a god in body and a genius in mind. But then it all changed. He became no better then a robot, or so he was told. A half-breed like myself; an android, a cyborg. Yet he did not fall into that deep, dark ever churning pool of self pity. He did not fall into that trap, like so many before him. He did not choose to thrust away what truly made him human. He took that miniscule part of him, embraced it, allowed it to remake him. He allowed that piece of his soul to become his essence. Faced with impenetrable darkness, he used that blackness to find the light. We have done that, found the good in every thing.

_**No matter the situation or person, we find light in them.**_

Perhaps the most innocent of out team is the one called Beast Boy. Though I constantly insult him and make a fool of him, he is one of my best friends. He is the kindest person I've ever known. When I was fooled by the charms of the dragon Malchior, no…. Rorek, he came to me. He didn't come with insults or accusations. He didn't come with pity or unease, like the others. He came with understanding. How foolish I was, too lock myself up in my room, thinking I was the only one who suffered pain like this! I had forgotten, Slade, the pain you put him through, through Terra. He came to me, and I didn't trust him. I thought he was going to throw insults at me again, to force me even lower into my hole of depression. But he only said six simple words.

'_I'm sorry he broke your heart.'_

I can never truly do justice in words to the chain he broke in me that day. He freed me from something. He did the same with Terra. In the end he showed kindness and compassion to the one ho had betrayed him. He forgave her, and sought to save her, when we couldn't even bear to look at her. He finds the good in people, but more then that, he helps them bring it out. He taught me a very important lesson; you're never alone.

_**We're always there for each other, through good times and bad.**_

If Beast Boy is the kindest, then Starfire is the most complex. At first sight you see naïve, beautiful alien. But she is so much more. She's Princess of Tameran, an expert in outer-planetary cultures. She may seem dumb, but really, she's just as intelligent as all of us, more then some of us, because she listens to that one thing that can truly make her happy: her heart. One day she devastated all of us with the news that she was to be …married. Her diabolical elder sister had taken over Tameran, and engaged her to be married in order to stop an invasion. We later found out that it was all a fraud, that there was no actually invasion and Blackfire had set it all up to gain power. Starfire defeated her sister, gaining the throne. But when we were all set to leave, she gave a speech. She said;

'_I overthrew my sister, because she was not right for Tameran. But my heart is telling me that I also am not right Tameran.'_

Starfire listened to her heart. And that's what we all do. It's how we all got this far.

_**We listen to our heart.**_

Terra. The traitor, Terra. Yet in her final moments, she made up for all she had ever done. It doesn't erase the evil deeds she committed. It doesn't wipe her mistakes from the book of time. But it was enough that we forgave her, and want her back. In the end she realizes what she had done, the terror of it all. And she knew she had to stop it. She didn't put the weight on others shoulders by blaming you or anyone else. She took responsibility for her actions. She realized that it was her fault that this was happening, and faced the consequences, even when they were fatal. We all have done that, but no such on a greater scale then Terra. And it's your entire fault we lost her. You will never be forgiven for that.

**_We accept the blame for our actions and we accept the consequences._**

It all comes down to me. What do the Titans have, that I show? What have I learned from them? I learned all of these lessons, but I have taught them another in return. Surely Slade, you know of my father. Of the evil that haunts me day and night. Of the nightmares that exist when I sleep, when I close my eyes, when I _blink_. There is no use defying him. And yet, I do. I keep striving to contain him, sacrificing my own emotions so others may be safe. Little by little my emotions are escaping, and little by little his cage is wearing down. And yet I still strive for the unattainable. For what I know, deep inside me, can never be reached. Isn't that why I formed the Teen Titans? So that on that day that he does escape, they can defeat him? Some say that it's impossible. But as Robin said;

'_If memory serves, we were always good at doing the impossible.'_

Impossible is just a petty word used by people who would rather complain about the world in which they live, than actually work to change it. Impossible is a word worthy only of hypocrites and traitors. Every day we do the impossible. We defeat villains, crush monsters, defy evil and yet somehow find the time to live like normal teenagers. We balance our pleasures with our duties to find that golden road to take, together. Everyday we do the 'impossible'. We strive for those unattainable goals, the ones that we 'can never reach'. And we do it together, supporting each other with simple things. A smile to cheer you up, a few understanding words, comfortable silence, a shoulder to cry on. Together, we reach the impossible.

_**We strive for those unattainable, impossible goals and believe in possibility.**_

So Slade, that brings me to the end. Tell me this, did I really betray my friends? You want to know what we have that you don't?

Some may say that it's these gifts. Some may say it's a heart. Some may say, as Beast Boy oh-so-gracefully put it; a life.

But it is not one single solitary thing you are missing. There are many things.

You are missing evil. A true judge of character is how you deal with evil. You are missing evil to defy, evil to show you what true terror is like.

You are missing a path. You wander life aimlessly. No one to protect but yourself, no one to fight for but yourself. Your one reason for living is pure, undefiled greed.

You are missing a heart. How can a man order so many dead and yet feel nothing about it? It is inhumane.

You are missing light within yourself. With no light in yourself, you can never find the light within others. You will forever see them as pawns.

You are missing responsibility. Tell med Slade, Death stroke the Terminator, have you ever truly killed someone? With your own hands, no lackeys, no guns, just your bare, brittle hands. You haven't, have you? You haven't accepted those deaths as your fault, and push the blame on others.

You are missing many things Slade, but most of all you are missing friends. You are missing that person to provide the shoulder to cry on, a smile to share, the understanding words to help you carry on.

You are missing someone to find you light, to help recognize that evil, to capture your heart with friendship and let it go if need be. You are missing what is truly impossible for what you have become.

So Slade, have I truly betrayed my friends? Or have I just snuck into your heart, deep into your mind and released the truth?

I will see you again Slade. And I will see you as an enemy, someone to fight. I will also see you as someone who strayed far off their paths, someone to be pitied. I will see you as Slade, and you will see me for what I really am.

A demoness.

A Teen Titan.

A friend.

Raven.


End file.
